Garage door



` Aug. 31, 1943.

w. D. FERRls 2,328,204

GARAGE DOOR Filed Jan. 22 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 31, 1943.

w. D.'Fl.-:RR|s 2,328,204

GARAGE Doon Filed Jan. 22, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INV NT OR. z//w/w En@ m @if/M Aug. 31, 1943.

w. D. FERRIs GARAGE DOOR Filed Jan. 22 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 `INVE /M//Zaw PimirdAW-il 12,328,204

,Y ,-I 2,328,204 l n Seaman noonv f liganufaturing Co., Sterling, Ill., a corporation a l o n n s Y i 4 'Application January 22, 1942, No, 427,700

2 l schmaler-2F19) V y l invention-relates'to overhead doors land l other objects-of the invention as will be apparparticularly to overhead doorsof the rigid oneent froml aperusal of the following speciilcatlon piece typeptbe upper ends of which are adapted 'when taken in connection with the accompanyto vbe guided' along a substantially horizontal ing-drawings, wherein: a L track in more or less horizontal position '5 Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken adjacent the top of the. door frame'and `wherein on the line l-l of Figure 4. v

lever means pivoted ,toV the door andfto a xed Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cam plate.

support locatedto the rear ofthey door frame 'is Figure 3 is a detailplan section taken on the provided,zso that when thev door lclosed it, is a line 3 3 oi' Figure 1. y l

ini ja substantially Vvertical position 10 Figure 4 is 'a vertical cross sectional view of the with lrespect tothe door frame andwhen open door in closed position, taken on the line '4-4, is inV a substantially horizontal overhead position A of Figure l. with respect to the door frame. l Figure 5 is a similar view showing the door in 'I'he object of the invention is'to providean open or` overhead position: Y

overhead door construction including a counterl5 Figure 6 is a detail plan sectional view taken balanced door adapted to move from a substanon the line 6 6 of Figure 4. tially vertically closed position to an open sub- Figures 7 to ll, inclusive. are vertical cross stantially overhead horizontal position wherein sectional views of the door in different positions there is providedmeans 'operative duringl the l of operation. d movements of the door for controlling the eilec- 20 Referring now to the drawings in detail, the tive action o1' the counterbalancing means thereinvention is illustrated` in connection with a on in accordance'vsith predetermined empiricalstructure v2 having a door frame 4 providing an 1y selected values throughout 'the range of trave1 p opening adapted to be closed by a door 6, which of the door, whereby empirically to control the in closed position is substantially vertical, as operating forces on the door throughout its range k2li shown in Figure 4, and which in open position of travel. f is substantially horizontal, as shown in Figure 5.

- Among other objects of the present invention The door is of the one-piece rigid type and is is to provide in association with the foregoing,` preferably provided with a bracket 6 carrying spring power means including a Spring and an a roller III at the upper corners of the door, elongated ilexible member having one end con- 30 which rollers are adapted to roll in tracks I2 nected to the door and the opposite end to a extending within the structure at the top thereof ilxed support and to provide in association thereand being substantially horizontal more or less, with a lever having one end pivoted to the botor 'slightly rearwardly downwardly inclined. tom of the'doorand having its other end pro- At its lower end the door is provided with a vided with means whereby the lever is pivotal- 35 bracket I4, to which is pivoted as at i6, the outer ly mounted on a ilxed support in such a manner end of a lever I6. This lever is adapted to have that the pivotal point may shift along the length a shifting pivotal connection with a ilxed supof the lever in a selected predetermined manner port and means in association therewith are produring the opening and closing movements of vided in the form of a cam for causing a predethe door, whereby to provide controlled variant, 4o termined, preselected shift ofthe pivotal axis of opening and closing movements of the door; to said lever in order to provide variant controlled provide in associationwith .a door of the foregoopening and closing movements ofthe door, and ing characteristics, cam means of a selected confor providing further a positive stop for the full tour for controlling the distance from the inner open position of the door. end of the lever, of the shiftable axis about '46 For this purposethe inner end of the lever is which the lever swings during the opening and provided near its end with an elongated slot 20 closing movements of the door; to provide acam adapted to receive a pin 22 mounted xedly on meansln association with a slotted lever and a a bracket 24. 'I'he inner end of this lever It shifting pivotal point for the lever in association carries a pin 26 provided with a head 26 and a `with the cammeans whereby to provide adjust- 5o threaded shank 30 and a nut 32. The pin is ments to suit 4variable spring tensions andnto adapted to ride in a slot 34 formed on the angecare for slight variations in weight of the door; 36 of the bracket 24, said bracket 24 having a to provide'a device of the foregoing character flange 38 attached as by bolts 40 to the main which will also provide a positive stop for the full vertical frame of the door. .open position of the door; to provide these and liliv It will be seen from the consecutive iigures that due to the urge of the spring mechanism hereinafter described, the inner end of the lever I8 through the agency of the slot 20 may shift relatively to the iixed pin 22, such shifting movement being deiinitely controlled in all positions of the door by means of the xed cam slot 34. This` is very clearly shown in Figures 'I to 11, inclusive.

In cooperation with the foregoing structure, means is provided for counterbalancing the door in its opening and closing movements and in addition 'for giving the door an initial, automatic, opening movement.

This mechanism comprises a coil spring 42 having one end anchored as at 44 to a bracket 46 mounted on the rear face of thedoor 6. The opposite end of the spring is connected to an elongated iiexible member preferably in the form of a cable 48, which passes around a sheave 50, preferably rotatable on the pin I6 on which the outer end of the lever I8 is pivoted.v This cable 48 is anchored at its upper end as at 52 to a fixed support which in the present instance is a pin or any other anchorage on the door frame 4. Hence, this anchorage 52 is disposed, to the rear of the door in the closed position of the door.

The spring 42 is the type having initial tension built and wound into it and the spring is arranged so that when the door is in completely open position the spring will tend to maintain a tension on the lever I8, whereby to hold the doorI completely open and to prevent it from rebounding when adjusted properly. In addition, this initial tension which is wound in the spring acts immediately to lift the door upwardly when the latching mechanism is released.

As before stated, the contour of the cam slot 34 may be varied to accomplish various controlled opening and closing movements of the door, depending upon the type of cam slot selected.. The present invention includes rthe provision of a cam slot designed to change the effective length of the lever from its fixed pivotal axis 22 to its.` outer pivotal axis I6, where it is connected to the lower portion of the door.

In the fully closed position of the door, as shown in Figure '7, the pin 26 will be at the upper end of the cam slot 34 and the fixed pivotal pin 22 forming the pivotal axis about which the lever I8 swings, but located at the extreme outer end of the cam slot 20, in which position ythe minimum eiective length of the lever is being utilized in association with the spring 42 and the cable 48. Invthis position, shown in Figure 7, the distance A, vas shownby the arrows, is at a minimum.

-This line A is at right angles to line X which bisects theline of the spring 42 and its cable 48 and extends to the pivotal axis 22. This means that the spring will exert a relatively smaller force for opening the door the instant that the door latch is released.

The cam slot 34 provided in the plate 24 may be shaped in accordance with any desired curve or shape to thereby impart to the lever I8 the desired effective length at each and all positions within the range of travel of the door and the lever. In short, the cam track may be cut in accordance with empirically selected values thereby to impart empirically selected lever arm lengths to the lever I8 at each and all positions within its range of travel. It is, of course, understood that any desired shape of cam slot 34 may be designed to produce any desired effect on the opening and closing movements of the door.

The shape of the slot 34 selected is purely forv illustrative purposes.

The contour of the cam slot 34 is designed so that in response to the urge of the spring 42, as the pin 25 moves along the slot 34, the distance A increases. This is due to the fact that the cam slot will cause the innermost end of the lever through the instrumentality of the pin 26 to be shifted toward the iixed pivotal axis pin 22 so that the slot 20 of the lever will permit the lever I8 as a whole to shift bodily to the left as shown in Figure 9.

'I'his movement will serve to increase the eiective length of the lever I8 from the point 22 to the point I8, which in conjunction with the force of the spring 42 and the cable 48, will tend to exert a. constantly and progressively increasing upward force to accelerate the opening movement of the door. This accelerated movement will continue until the cam slot 34 reaches a point such as shown in Figure 10 where the pin 26 has reached such a position in the cam slot that the distance A isl at its maximum.

From the position shown in Figure l0 the pin 2B will move in the cam slot to the position shown in Figure 11, which added movement progressively increases the distance or torque arm A cooperating with the decreasing force of application of the spring 42 to thereby impart the desired decreasing torque to the door as it approaches its fully open position.

Thus, during the completion of its full open movement the door will tend to slow down the predetermined desired amount until the nal complete open position is reached, at which time any further movement is checked by the contact of the pin 26 with the adjacentl end of the cam slot 34. At this time it will be n'oted that the pivot pin 22 will be at the opposite end of the slot 20 of the lever I8.

It will be appreciated that the present cony struction, through utilization of the various shaped cam slots 34, provides in each selected cam slot a controlled speed and movement of the door. In the present instance, the initial urge of the spring of the door will be relatively slow but will act positively to open the door instantly the door is unlocked without any preliminary urge to the door, and thereafter the speed of the opening of the door will accelerate to a predetermined point and will then tend to slow down in the speed of opening to the complete open position of the door.

Having thus described my-invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows: A

1. An overhead door construction comprisingv a frame having an opening to be closed, a door adapted to be moved from a. substantially ver'- tical position closing said opening to an open substantially horizontal position adjacent the upper part of said opening, lever means pivoted to the door, means forming a fixed pivot for said lever, counterbalancing means for the door, means forming a shiftable pivotal connection between said lever and said xed pivot, and cam means for controlling the shifting of said pivot during the opening and closing movements of the door.`

2. An overhead door construction comprising a frame having an opening to be closed, a rigid door adapted to be moved from a substantially to the door and to a xed pivot forcontrolling `the movements of thel door, counterbalancing means for the door comprising a spring and a connected elongated. flexible member, said counterbalancing means being disposed entirely behind the door when the latter is in closed position and being connected to the door and to a iixed support, said lever being shiftable lengthwise relative to its ixed pivot, and means for progressively controlling the lengthwise relative shifting move- 'ment of said lever relative to its fixed pivot during the movements of the door.

3. An overhead door construction comprising a frame having an opening to be closed, a door adapted to be moved from a substantially' vertical position closing said opening to an open substantially horizontal position adjacent the upper part of said opening, lever means pivoted to the door and to a ixed support for controlling the movements of the door. counterbalancing means for the door, said lever having a slot passing about the pivotal axis of said lever. whereby to permit said lever to shift longitudinally relative to the pivotal axis of said lever, and cam means controlling such movement of the lever relative to its pivotal axis.

4 ,An overhead door construction comprising a frame having an opening to be closed, a rigid door adapted to be moved from a substantially vertical position closing said opening to an open substantially horizontal position adjacent the upper part of said opening, a lever having one end pivoted to the door, the opposite end of said lever having an elongated slot, means providing a xed support having a xed pin adapted to shift along the slot of said lever, a cam and means on the rear end of said lever adapted to engage the cam to control the relative movement of the pin in said slot lof the lever, and counterbalancing spring means comprising a spring and a connected elongated flexible member for controlling the movements of the door, said counterbalancing means being connected to the door and to a xed support.

5. In combination with a structure having an opening, a rigid door therefor having a vertical closed position' and a more-or less horizontal open position, a single lever having one end connected 4to said door, means forming a fixed pivot about which the lever is adapted to swing, counterbalancing means for the door. means disposed at a plurality of points along the length of said opposite end portion of the lever, about which said lever is adapted to swing about said fixed pivot, and means for selectively controlling at which point of said plurality of points said lever will swing about its iixed pivot during any particular position of the door.

, 6. In combination 4with a structure having an opening, a door therefor having avertical closed position and a more or less horizontal open position, means providing a ilxed support, a fixed pivot pin thereon, a lever having one end pivotally connected to a lower portion of the door, the opposite end of' said lever having an elongated slot extending lengthwise thereof, along which said fixed axis is adapted to move, said end of said lever adjacent said slot being provided with a pin, a fixed cam plate adjacent the inner portion of said lever, said plate having a cam slot alongwhich said pin is adapted to ride, and counterbalancing means for said door.

7. In an overhead door construction of the type wherein the upper end of the door is slidably engaged in substantially horizontal tracks and the lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a pair of supporting arms, each pivotally mounted on stationary supports located at opposite sides of the door -opening and substantially midway between the top and bottom of said opening, counterbalancing means for facilitating the opening of said door, said pair of supporting arms and their pivotal mounting including an elongated slot and pin connection to permit said arms and the pivotal mountings to shift relatively in a di-' rection lengthwise of the arms and means for effecting a predetermined controlled relative shifting movement of said pins and said arms during the opening movement of said door.

8. In combination with a frame providing an opening, a rigid one-piece door therefor adapted in vertical position to close said opening and adapted to lie substantially horizontal in its open position, means forming a fixed pivot, a one piccalever pivoted to said door and t0 said fixed pivot for imparting a shifting movement to said door from said vertical position to said horizontal position, counterbalancing means for Said door, and means operative during the swinging movement of said door for changing the distance along the lever` between the point of pivotal connection of the lever to the door and the point of pivotal connection of the lever to its fixed pivot. v

i WILLIAM D. FERRIS. 

